IJR News

Trump to Send Nearly $100 Checks to 20 Million Seniors From Medicare Fund — 5dA late-night post by President Donald Trump included an announcement he is tapping a “slush fund” to send money to more than 20 million senior citizens. This announcement comes ju… — by Sandra Rhodes

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Marcus Bell Tapping Medicare funds for direct payments risks weakening the program for future needs.

Scottsdale drops direct water reuse plan after political criticism — Sep 24, 2026Scottsdale's council in June replaced a 2027 plan to add purified wastewater to drinking taps with a $100 million new-sources fund after toilet-to-tap criticism.

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Nicole Hardy Candidates should stick to facts instead of scaring people away from proven purification that other cities already use safely.

Germany Completes World's Tallest 365-Meter Wind TurbineEnvironment — Sep 28, 2026Germany has completed the world’s tallest wind turbine, a 365-meter structure in the former coal-mining region of Brandenburg designed to tap stronger, steadier high-altitude winds and potentially generate about twice as much electricity as conventional turbines. The project is expected to connect to the grid in November and is part of the region’s shift toward renewable energy.

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Stagwell Taps dentsu Veteran Rutgersson as Assembly Global CEO — Sep 14, 2026Stagwell named dentsu veteran Liz Rutgersson Assembly global CEO effective Sept. 14, 2026; Connie Chan becomes Assembly APAC CEO the same day.

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Syngenta Plans $5 Billion Hong Kong IPO — Sep 15, 2026Syngenta Group confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO, targeting about US$5 billion in proceeds and possibly up to US$10 billion, with a listing expected as early as next year depending on regulatory approvals and market conditions. The deal, potentially among Hong Kong’s largest in years, underscores Sinochem-owned Syngenta’s strategy to tap international capital for growth amid volatility in global crop markets.

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Marcus Bell This Hong Kong listing could give Syngenta better access to Asian investors for expanding crop solutions.

Most Influential Women in World HistoryYourlist — RankingFrom ancient queens who ruled empires to modern activists who changed laws, these women left indelible marks on politics, science, and culture. Vote for who you think shaped history most profoundly.

TransNusa Plans Melbourne-Bali Flights as Sixth Carrier — Sep 15, 2026TransNusa will launch daily Melbourne–Bali flights from October 19, 2026, making it the sixth airline on the route and its second Australian gateway after Perth, while also introducing a Premium Plus service with 20 seats per flight and enhanced baggage allowances to attract budget-conscious travelers. The move intensifies competition on the Melbourne–Denpasar corridor as the airline expands its Australian network and taps into Bali’s ongoing popularity for Australian holidaymakers.

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Derek Foss More competition on the Melbourne Bali route should help keep fares reasonable for regular holidaymakers.

Weight Watchers Names Former Ookla Chief Stephen Bye as CEO — Sep 9, 2026Weight Watchers named Stephen Bye as its chief executive officer, with the appointment to take effect this fall, tapping a veteran leader who scaled Ookla’s subscription business and drove growth across tech and telecoms. The move aligns with Weight Watchers’ strategy to build an integrated weight health platform for the GLP-1 era, leveraging Bye’s track record in subscriptions and operational efficiency.

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Rachel Meyers Stephen Bye's background scaling Ookla might bring needed efficiency, though I wonder how well it translates to health services.

Ligent Plans $723 Million Hong Kong IPO — Sep 13, 2026Ligent Technologies plans a Hong Kong IPO to raise about HK$5.67 billion (roughly US$723 million) by offering 172 million shares at HK$32.96, with cornerstone investors and Hisense retaining a stake post-IPO, and aims to list on September 22 to fund R&D, expansion, and general corporate purposes as demand from data centers and cloud computing drives growth. The deal, marketed as tapping into the growing optical communications sector, values the company around HK$32.4–HK$32.398 billion and underscores Ligent’s role in data-center hardware and telecom networks.

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Sam Okafor Raising HK$5.67 billion mainly for R&D makes sense if they want to keep up in cloud networking hardware.

Price Is Right Live planned across North AmericaEntertainment — 1dThe Price Is Right Live is taking its interactive, non-televised stage show to venues across North America in 2027, including stops in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Kentucky. Audience members selected at random can compete in familiar games for cash and prizes; this season also adds Secret X and a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to attend a TV-show taping.

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Hardywood Acquires Starr Hill, Uniting Virginia’s Largest BreweriesBusiness — 1dRichmond-based Hardywood has acquired Charlottesville-area Starr Hill in an all-equity deal, bringing Virginia’s two largest craft brewers together. Both brands, teams, brewing sites and taprooms will continue operating, with Starr Hill’s owners taking a minority stake in Hardywood.

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Massive New Mexico Uranium Mining Project Hits Wall Covered In Red Tape — 1dNew Mexico is emerging as a battleground in America’s push to revive domestic uranium production as state and tribal officials fight a proposed project that could produce millions of pounds of nuclear fuel each year.

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Quentin Tarantino vs Martin ScorseseYourlist — VS BattleThe video store savant versus the film-school don — two visions of American violence, guilt, and cool.

Whole Foods plans openings in Los Angeles, BradentonBusiness — 4dWhole Foods plans to open its first Manatee County store in Bradenton on Nov. 5, 2026, featuring more than 450 Florida-sourced products, and a 63,082-square-foot flagship in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, with a taproom, expanded specialty offerings and more than 1,900 California-sourced items. The Bradenton store will be the chain’s 40th in Florida; the Los Angeles location replaces its longtime Fairfax store nearby.

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Parton Estate Alleges Barbed-Wire Effort to Dodge Service — 2dDolly Parton's estate told a Nashville court Bryan Seaver put barbed wire and caution tape on his porch while process servers tried three times to serve him ahead of an Oct. 9 hearing.

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Senate Passes Housing Bill Aimed At Cutting Red Tape And Boosting Supply — 2dThe Senate passed a piece of bipartisan legislation Monday that aimed to lower the cost of housing.

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UN Report Attributes 1,004 Ukraine Sexual Violence Cases Mostly to Russia — Sep 18, 2026UN report documents 1,004 sexual violence cases in Ukraine since 2022, attributing 89% to Russia; majority of survivors are men, including via electric shocks with a Soviet-era tapik.

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Marcus Bell Holding Russia accountable for nearly all the documented cases requires more than just reports.

The grammar gatekeeper testQuizie — QuizTwelve spelling and grammar traps that catch almost everyone. Pass, and the AI knights you. Fail, and it's gentle about it. Mostly.

Taylor Swift joins Emmys SVU sketch but skips show for Chiefs game — Sep 15, 2026Taylor Swift joined a pre-taped SVU Emmys sketch with Mariska Hargitay and her cat on Sept. 14, 2026, then skipped the ceremony to watch Travis Kelce’s Chiefs opener with Tom Cruise.

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Dana Whitfield The pre-taped cameo kept things light without forcing her to attend, which makes sense given her schedule. I wonder if more stars will try similar remote bits next year.

Newsom Won’t Run in 2028 if Harris Does — Sep 14, 2026Gavin Newsom told CNN's Jake Tapper while fly fishing in Montana he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris enters the race.

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Chris Dalton This just kicks the can down the road and leaves Democrats with the same narrow options in four years.

Positron AI Raises $875M at $5B Valuation — Sep 10, 2026Positron AI raised $875 million in a two‑tranche Series C that values the company at $5 billion and will fund the tapeout of its Asimov memory‑first chip and the production ramp of Titan, as well as expanding manufacturing for its Atlas system deployed at Oracle Cloud. The round, co-led by NEA, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, Andra Capital, SemiAnalysis Capital, and Jim Clark, will also add new board members and accelerate LPDDR5X‑based memory bandwidth‑focused inference hardware designed for air‑ and liquid‑cooled data centers.

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Maya Lindstrom Jim Clark backing the Atlas ramp at Oracle makes sense given his hardware history, though scaling Titan production will still face stiff competition.

Dolly Parton’s Five-Layer Casserole Uses Pantry Staples — 2dDolly Parton shared a love of hearty, unfussy Southern cooking, including her mother’s chicken and dumplings, which she often made for cast and crew. Her five-ingredient layered casserole—made with ground beef, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers—reflects the same practical, crowd-pleasing approach to comfort food.